Astronaut and artist Alan Bean died in May this year at age 86. He was the fourth human to walk on the moon as part of the crew of Apollo 12, and spent 31 hours on the lunar surface in the 2nd moon mission 1969. Alan Bean's first space launch has gone terribly wrong after less than a minute; the craft had been hit by lightning twice. Despite flashing warning lights all over the control panels, he could see the batteries were still putting out the required power. He kept repeating this to his crew and mission control as the team scrambled to determine what happened and what to do. The ground suggests resetting the seemingly ailing systems, but Bean hesitates. "One of the rules of space flight is you don't make any changes to an electrical system unless you've got a good idea why you're doing it," he will later say. "I knew we had power, so I didn't want to make any changes. I figured we could fly into orbit just like that. We've all learned that by randomly switching the electrical system around, you can get yourself into more trouble."

Every blessing promised in the bible is there for us to take the advantage... however, it is always a choice we need to make and act on!! The following list of seven actions may well prove to be helpful to stimulate your mind into more effective living.

Jerusalem has a history with God like no other city in the world. King David conquered Jerusalem (city ofpeace) also called city of David, approx. 1000bc and made it the capital of the Jewish kingdom. His son,Solomon, built the first Holy Temple 40 years later, with the Holy Spirit power and fire confirming God'sphysical connection with humanity (2CHR 7:1). The Holy Spirit appeared again in Jerusalem on the day ofPentecost (50 days after the veil was torn): in a temple prayer room, this time entering the bodies of thefaithful, not the holiest of holies... the New Testament now replaced the old. NB., Jesus was also murdered inJerusalem (God's chosen city); rejected and condemned by the Jews, crucified by the Romans.

There is no one who achieves 100% of their human possibility, whether it be genetic, intellectual, economic, self worthor romance. All of us suffer from being potentially short changed in one area or another. Thus we have two choices...move forward, or become victims. There is also a spiritual side to all of us, which we cannot naturally ever measure up to. God reveals how we can improve ourselves, but that means taking personal responsibility of our lives and make improvements. When God is not allowed to be part of any solution, then victimhood is the only outcome, because eventually all people die. Those who ignore God are the victims, deceived by sin. By refusing to allow God's power to bea solution, death becomes their choice.

When we talk about the love of God; many rightly feel safe and secure in the gracious comfort and merciful forgiveness, which is far above our personal capacity. God is far more capable than we are, thus as Christians we endeavour to love and think more like Christ would have us do. The trouble with this is, we often can miss why he has shown his love towards us... we focus on his love, but often miss why he has revealed it to us. We have been filled with the Holy Spirit to demonstrate God's love, not just feed on it. His love goes far beyond his personal and touching care for us. He also cares for the rest of the world and wants us to do our bit in sharing the gospel with the unsaved as well. Should we miss this second part of God's love, we also miss the overcoming nature of our existence. Even worse, we also miss numerous blessing and can feel unfulfilled.

Many people, including numerous Christians, falsely believe that serving God is a difficult and demanding task... this is not the case. God has never made it easier to prove his existence, to develop a working relationship with him and to build a quality life. This is made all the more easier by following a few well proven steps. Nothing workable happens until the Holy Spirit enters our bodies as this is the key to a successful relationship with God. The Holy Spirit is the source of power for every blessing and the key to all worthwhile knowledge. God's power also makes it possible to succeed despite our obvious shortcomings and personal weaknesses. The greatest power of the Holy Spirit lies in its ability to cleanse us of all sin and to maintain the cleansing process for our whole lives.

The death of Jesus Christ was much more than the removal of a 'religious competitor' for the Jews and far more beneficial for humanity than any other single event in history. Christ's sacrifice completed the Old Testament and introduced a foolproof plan for those seeking eternal life. JOH 19:30 When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost. It is over!!

The bible has proven to be a source of inspiration to more people over time, than any other source. Aside from thesalvation message, the concept of an all powerful, creative and loving God; provides inspiration to everyone,everywhere; no matter what their life's circumstances. Most people rightly understand that there is much more to life and living than just their own allotted portion. It is very humbling to realize that God has far more influence on those who are suffering than on those who enjoy the benefits of a good life. Thus we find that humility and inspiration go hand in hand with grief and trials. The following list of well known hymns/choruses come from moments of utter despair, simple humility and joyful hope.

Our salvation is merely the beginning of the blessings that God has revealed to us through the power of the Holy Spirit. We are called into much more than a one off experience. We are now powered up, to take some truly exciting steps. Many of life's disappointments and many spiritual weaknesses will vanish away very quickly when we get the spiritual basics right. Asking, seeking and knocking is a daily routine, not something we do to receive the Holy Spirit, nor hold in reserve for emergencies once filled with the spirit! It is almost impossible to come to terms with church life and spiritual happiness, if God's priorities are not our own.

The prophetic parable of the 'sower', reveals the frightening reality that many Christian will be choked to death from bad choices and poor scriptural discipline. There is a very serious side to God which can be easily overlooked by modern, 'feel good' approaches to fellowship and eternal life. God refuses to accept anyone who knowingly waters down his word and his requirements. GAL 6:7 Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. Once a person responds to the salvation gospel through receiving the Holy Spirit with the God given sign of speaking in tongues, it is fully expected that a strong commitment will continue. It is easy to overlook the fact that every day, life and death are continually in play. We don't have the luxury of taking God or our fellowship for granted...there is a job to be done and the urgency only increases; it never eases.